7 months away from the Ashes...

[Penguinissimo]

And both sides are in a state of flux with lots of spots in each team up from grabs.

Interestingly, I reckon (and I'm going to be pilloried for saying it) that the names that appear approximately cancel each other out, and so it may well be that the performance of the four or so "uncertains" dictates where the Ashes ends up. Discuss.

England

Cook
Strauss
********
Pietersen
Collingwood
Flintoff
Prior
Broad
[Anderson]
********
********

Australia

Katich
********
Ponting
Hussey
Clarke
[Symonds / Watson]
Haddin
Johnson
[Lee]
********
********

 

[Athlai]

And both sides are in a state of flux with lots of spots in each team up from grabs.

Interestingly, I reckon (and I'm going to be pilloried for saying it) that the names that appear approximately cancel each other out, and so it may well be that the performance of the four or so "uncertains" dictates where the Ashes ends up. Discuss.

England

Cook
Strauss
********
Pietersen
Collingwood
Flintoff
Prior
Broad
[Anderson]
********
********

Australia

Katich
********
Ponting
Hussey
Clarke
[Symonds / Watson]
Haddin
Johnson
[Lee]
********
********

Lee will be in the team, as will Clark. Symonds is probably 60-70% over Watson at the moment too. Also Anderson is a lot more certain than Broad for the English team.

 

[susudear]

These shud be the teams

England

Strauss
Cook
Vaughn
Peterson(c)
Collinwood
Proir(wk)
Flintoff
Harmless son he's good at home.
Brody
Sidebottom.

Stralia

Huges
Katmat
Clarke (c) (also spin)
Hussay senior
Hussay junior/Hodge
Symmonds (as spin option)
Watto
Haddin (wk)
Lee
Johnners
Clark

Expect a 4-0 whitewash off te Poms.

 

[Richard]

Already have a thread for this TBH.

Anyway I reckon I gave some near-certainties, some hopefuls and some no-player-has-claim-on places a few months back; can update it now. C = near-certainty; P = still probable; -------- = no-one has a case for.

England:
Strauss - C
Cook - P
-------
Pietersen - C
Collingwood - P
Flintoff - C (but not on batting position)
-------
Sidebottom - C
Anderson - P
-------
-------

Australia:
-------
------- (though Katich is likely to be one of these positions and Jaques quite possible)
Ponting - C
Hussey M - C
Clarke - C
Symonds - P
Haddin - C
Johnson - C
B Lee - P
Clark - C
-------

 

[Athlai]

Sidebottom, Anderson, Broad/Harmison, Flintoff Swann/Panesar

Vs.

Lee, Johnson, Clark, Krezja, Symonds/Clarke

Lee, Johnson, Anderson and Harmison are all very similar in the sense that either they look very threatening or they are serving up pies. Sidebottom, Flintoff and Clark on the other hand are very solid players who often are unrewarded for good bowling.

The English spinners are far better than any Aussie counterpart.

Pretty hard to call which attack is best really. Sidebottom Flintoff and an onsong Anderson are 3 very good pacers.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

I'll have a million bucks on Krejza not getting anywhere near the Ashes squad. IMO McGain will go.

 

[Athlai]

I'll have a million bucks on Krejza not getting anywhere near the Ashes squad. IMO McGain will go.

McGain anygood because Siddle and Krezja were ****ing atrocious in that last .

 

[Richard]

Sidebottom, Anderson, Broad/Harmison, Flintoff Swann/Panesar

Vs.

Lee, Johnson, Clark, Krezja, Symonds/Clarke

Lee, Johnson, Anderson and Harmison are all very similar in the sense that either they look very threatening or they are serving up pies. Sidebottom, Flintoff and Clark on the other hand are very solid players who often are unrewarded for good bowling.

The English spinners are far better than any Aussie counterpart.

Pretty hard to call which attack is best really. Sidebottom Flintoff and an onsong Anderson are 3 very good pacers.

Australia's best bowler (Clark) is better than England's best (Flintoff) in more conditions than not. However, if England get the conditions right (and obviously a bit of it is down to luck as if the weather's bad you can't prepare with the attention-to-detail you'd like), Flintoff could easily be better than Clark.

England's second-best (Sidebottom) is potentially better than anything else Australia have to offer (be it Lee or Johnson). Lee and Johnson have both been poor very often but have also of times been devastating.

Anderson is similar to the above two Australians - often poor but potentially excellent and having demonstrated his excellence not so long ago.

The rest of the seamers who might play have so far done nothing to suggest they're any good at Test level - but that doesn't mean any of them won't be. Come July 2009, Tremlett and Bracken\Bollinger (or others) could be bowlers who can perform at Test level.

To make many assumptions about the spinners would be dangerous - we don't know how good Bryce McGain really is. He could be better than MSP or Swann - he's a wristspinner. However, he could also perfectly possibly be nowhere near as good under most circumstances. One thing's for sure, though, if McGain doesn't play, England >>>>>>>> Australia in spin and would be exceptionally unwise not to try to play to that strength.

 

[Durham_CCC]

England

Strauss
Shah
Pietersen
Bell
Collingwood
Freddy
Prior
Swann
Broad
Sidebottom
Anderson.

Australia.

Hayden/Jacques
Katich
Pointing
Clarke
Hussey
Symonds
Haddin
Lee
Clark
Krejza
Johnson

 

[Richard]

England

Strauss
Shah
Pietersen
Bell
Collingwood
Freddy
Prior
Swann
Broad
Sidebottom
Anderson.

Owais Shah opening the batting?

You are joking?

Also will be sooo disappointed if Prior and Broad play.

 

[susudear]

Seth Africa must thank India

For giving that joke of a spinner kresha such terrific/terrible debut figures. it was inevitable to him included when fit, and S Africa cashed!!! :

 

[four_or_six]

Flintoff's fitness and batting form key for us I reckon.

 

[Uppercut]

Already have a thread for this TBH.

Anyway I reckon I gave some near-certainties, some hopefuls and some no-player-has-claim-on places a few months back; can update it now. C = near-certainty; P = still probable; -------- = no-one has a case for.

England:
Strauss - C
Cook - P
-------
Pietersen - C
Collingwood - P
Flintoff - C (but not on batting position)
-------
Sidebottom - C
Anderson - P
-------
-------

Australia:
-------
------- (though Katich is likely to be one of these positions and Jaques quite possible)
Ponting - C
Hussey M - C
Clarke - C
Symonds - P
Haddin - C
Johnson - C
B Lee - P
Clark - C
-------

I hate to say it, but Sidebottom is no certainty. He's definitely a P due to his fitness problems and the fact that England's selectors sometimes don't seem keen to pick him (mind-boggingly).

 

[Durham_CCC]

Owais Shah opening the batting?

You are joking?

Also will be sooo disappointed if Prior and Broad play.

Sick of Cook getting out to silly shots, I think it would be worth a go opening with Shah in the Windies, and see how he does.

Would you prefer Bell to open ? I think they are both class players and both should be in the side IMO.

 

[Benaud]

england

1. maddy
2. compton
3. wagh
4. peterson
5. bell
6. dalrymple
7. gazzard
8. mascarenhas
9. munday
10. broad
11. dean

australia

1. hayden
2. langer
3. ponting
4. cosgrove
5. d. hussey
6. watson
7. hartley
8. henriques
9. krejza
10. lee
11. magoffin

 

[Richard]

I hate to say it, but Sidebottom is no certainty. He's definitely a P due to his fitness problems and the fact that England's selectors sometimes don't seem keen to pick him (mind-boggingly).

Not sure about not seeming keen to pick him (not saying you're definately wrong there BTW as I've wondered about it once or twice myself) but there's no real hard solid evidence there yet.

I hope his fitness problems will be solved by then and obviously if he can cash-in on the weak WI batting (as he damn well should do) then his place would obviously be assured as long as his fitness held.

 

[Richard]

Sick of Cook getting out to silly shots, I think it would be worth a go opening with Shah in the Windies, and see how he does.

Would you prefer Bell to open ? I think they are both class players and both should be in the side IMO.

If Cook is to be dropped - and I'd not be against that BTW but you'd have to be very out-of-touch with the England management's thoughts to think it's remotely likely TBH - then the replacement has to be Robert Key, plain and simple. He's the only other person in the country right now who I think has a cat-in-hell's chance of success as a Test opener.

Certainly neither Bell nor Shah I see as any chance at all. If you want both of them in the side it has to be Shah at three and Bell at five\six. And Bell is trying my patience at the current time, he really is. I don't - unlike some - actually actively expect him to be dropped in West Indies, and frankly I think if he is the likely replacement is Michael Vaughan. Bell has had a very strong case to be dropped several times before now and it's only actually happened twice (both times in the subcontinent in 2005/06, and the first time he got back in without even missing a game anyway).

However, as I've said a good few times, Shah can rightly be spitting in rage that he's still yet to play a Test as a first-choice player.

 

[Richard]

england

1. maddy
2. compton
3. wagh
4. peterson
5. bell
6. dalrymple
7. gazzard
8. mascarenhas
9. munday
10. broad
11. dean

australia

1. hayden
2. langer
3. ponting
4. cosgrove
5. d. hussey
6. watson
7. hartley
8. henriques
9. krejza
10. lee
11. magoffin

That has to be the most without-a-common-theme set of XIs I've ever seen.

 

[Uppercut]

Not sure about not seeming keen to pick him (not saying you're definately wrong there BTW as I've wondered about it once or twice myself) but there's no real hard solid evidence there yet.

I hope his fitness problems will be solved by then and obviously if he can cash-in on the weak WI batting (as he damn well should do) then his place would obviously be assured as long as his fitness held.

Still, hardly a certainty was my point. Although he's one player i'd say can genuinely trouble the Australians and it'd be a real shame if he doesn't play.

 

[Richard]

I think Sidebottom's a certainty provided fitness troubles (which are notable, have troubled him more than once but are not yet a constant recurring worry) are overcome. Stuart Clark is almost exactly the same, except he's elbow rather than intercostal-muscle.

Funny thing is Sidebottom's of late been kinda the opposite of Flintoff. Seemingly minimal effort for delivery and effortless in most of what he does with the ball, but with the ability to knock-over batsmen with fair aplomb and tailenders for fun.

Only once (Trent Bridge 2007) can I recall Sidebottom constantly making batsmen play-and-miss and never hitting the edge \ knocking the stumps over, whereas Flintoff's made a career of it the last 7 years.

If fit, I believe Sidebottom should and will be the first specialist bowler on the teamsheet and hopefully the combo of he and Flintoff (which has still played together just twice so far) could prove highly potent for just the reasons alluded to above about their polarised nature.